Byron Writers Festival Present Lemm Sissay in Conversation
Elements of Byron Resort | 6pm | Saturday | $30
Acclaimed poet and playwright Lemn Sissay is back in Byron Bay to unleash his powerful voice with a performance and conversation about his memoir My Name is Why (winner of the 2019 PEN Pinter Prize). Writer, Maureen Freely, one of the 2019 PEN Pinter Prize judges, said: ‘In his every work, Lemn Sissay returns to the underworld he inhabited as an unclaimed child. From his sorrows, he forges beautiful words and a thousand reasons to live and love’.
Displaced at birth from his Ethopian mother, Sissay passionately believes if you dig a hole in the heart of a child and bury an untruth, it will eventually find its way out. He describes a care system that did its best to destroy him – first in a dysfunctional foster home and then in dystopian institutions, illustrating how the most vulnerable are left at the mercy of the heartless and careless; disremembered, disbelieved, and disappeared.
Sissay introduces his memoir by outlining his 34-year campaign to retrieve his Wigan Council records, tracing the most brutal of beginnings. He had no family, no photos, no letters, and his entire history was contained in the files. They uncovered years of betrayal, secrets, lies, beatings, and incarceration.
Sissay inspirationally believes forgiveness is the most important thing you can offer yourself, rather than building a life around the thing you believe to be the worst thing that happened in your life. He intelligently examines societal prejudice against mothers and children, and the unquestioned power of racism and sexism – but he finds hope in the redemptive power of creativity and the beauty he found through his gift for words.
The event will include a performance by Sissay, followed by an in-conversation with vice-chancellor of Southern Cross University, Adam Shoemaker. Find inspiring answers to some of life’s most important ‘Whys?’ from this international festival favourite.
Saturday, 6pm, at Elements of Byron Resort. Tickets from $30 through byronwritersfestival.com/whats-on or call 6685 5115
No Beginning, No End: Dr Gali Weiss Art in the Pub
The Courthouse Hotel, Mullumbimby | Monday | 6.30pm
Where and when do creative works begin and end?
Dr Gali Weiss will talk about her practice of the past 20 years, reflecting on the links between her works.
Dr Weiss is an artist and lecturer in Creative Practice (Visual Arts) at Deakin University, Melbourne. She was the facilitator of Unfolding Projects: Afghan and Australian Artist Book Collaborations held at Queensland State Library.
She is currently the BSA artist in residence, and will be conducting a weekend workshop at BSA on 23 & 24 November.
She is the featured artist of Art in the Pub, at the Court House Hotel in Mullumbimby on Monday at 6.30pm.
Vicki Stavrou’s Coastal Muse, Exhibition Opening
Tweed Regional Gallery | Friday 22 Nov | 6pm
Byron Bay artist Vicki Stavrou’s exhibition, Coastal Muse, at Tweed Regional Gallery starts Friday, 22 November. Vicki travelled extensively through NSW’s Northern Rivers, Central Coast and out to Lord Howe Island to capture these beautiful and wild coastal locations.
Coastal Muse pays homage to the pure joy of swimming in the ocean and the sheer perfection of our natural coastline. Imbued with exotic skies and beautifully textured landscapes, her paintings express the serenity of these places.
Vicki says of her paintings: ‘Living with beautiful paintings that pay tribute to the natural world reminds me to slow down and reconnect with nature. When painting in open air, I try to capture the feel, the mood, and most importantly the quality of stillness and the strong tonal variations that come from the Australian sun.’
The Tweed Regional Gallery is one of the most scenic and majestic regional galleries in Australia with incredible views to the Tweed River and includes a wonderful cafe. Coastal Muse is on display through till the 16 February 2020 at Tweed
Regional Gallery, 2 Mistral Rd, South Murwillumbah. Opening night is Friday 22 November at 6pm. Tweed Regional Gallery opening hours are Wednesday till Sunday, 10am till 5pm.
Byron All Shorts Call for Entries
Entries Close, 20 Dec 201
iQ Inc is proud to continue providing inspiration and a world-class benchmark for local filmmakers, since 1999, by presenting Flickerfest International Film Festival Tour screenings, and they have provided a dedicated screening platform for local filmmakers since 2006 through Byron All Shorts.
Byron All Shorts celebrates the filmmaking talent of the Northern Rivers and encourages audiences to experience the many amazing films and local stories that are produced here each year.
The best of local shorts from the Northern Rivers region will screen in the Byron All Shorts finalists program, on Saturday 1 Feb, 4pm, alongside the best of Australia and the world at Flickerfest International Short Film Festival screenings, Thursday 29 January till Sat 1 Feb.
Filmmakers from across the region are invited to submit their short films, of up to 30 minutes in length, from all genres.
Prizes and cash to the value of around $3k will be included in the Flickerfest–iQ Best Short Film Award, the SAE Qantm Emerging Talent Award, the Audience Award and more – recognising the incredible talent in our region.
If you live in the Northern Rivers, or have produced a film in the Northern Rivers, or you have made a film about the Northern Rivers you can enter Byron All Shorts.
Entries close: Friday 20 December 2019
Entry forms and info: iQ.org.au | 0414 779 881
The Kransky Sisters
Byron Theatre, Community Centre | Saturday 30 Nov | 7.30pm | $44.90–$49.90
Cloistered in the rickety family house in their home town of Esk, in Queensland, the Kransky Sisters traditional Christmas festivities have, until now, been shrouded in secrecy. For this very special season they let you into their world of eggnog, panty-hose, and painted chokos. From Enya to Silent Night, Daft Punk to The Twelve Days Of Christmas, these dysfunctional sisters take family get-togethers to a new level. Come and join these off-the-wall siblings as they turn your Christmas into a stuffed ham. With their unusual array of instruments from cheese grater to toilet brush, tuba to musical saw, settle in for what could be your kookiest Christmas party yet.
The Kransky Sisters are at The Byron Theatre on Saturday, 30 November at 7.30pm. Tickets $44.90–$49.90 from byroncentre.com.au
Japan Festival
Main Beach/Byron Bay Surf Club and Peace Pole Area | 10am–4pm | Free
This Sunday come to Main Beach in Byron and check out Japan Festival. With more than 40 Japanese food and product stalls, community games, and dance and music workshops, Japan Festival is a one-day celebration showcasing unique elements of Japanese culture, and aiming to build community bonds throughout the day.
The program features traditional Japanese workshops, presentations, exhibitions, live entertainment, food stalls, a market village and activities for kids and adults. The event is supported by Byron Shire Council and other local organisations seeking to bring together the cultural diversity of our community and local businesses.
Byron Bay has become an international centre – and Byron Shire is home to a large number of Japanese residents; it is a favourite holiday destination and many come here for lifestyle and study opportunities. The aim of the festival is to connect local Australians with Japanese culture, and to grow understanding by sharing some of the thousands of years of Japanese cultural traditions.
There are an increasing number of Japanese restaurants in the Shire, and many unique stores to be introduced at this Sunday’s free event. 10am–4pm. Free.
Bush Poetry Comp with Angus Thurgate
Bangalow Show | Saturday | 2.30pm
This year’s Bangalow Show kicks off this Friday and runs until Saturday night. There’s all the usual events like the boot toss, the shopping relay, dog high jump, egg-and-spoon races for the kids, Steve’s Reptile World – the list goes on.
One of the feature events is the Bush Poets competition at 2.30 on Saturday, this year sponsored by the Bangalow Herald. There’s a $50 first prize up for grabs, as well as a glorious winner’s sash. It’s an all-ages event and open to anyone who thinks they can write and deliver a 3-minute poem containing the word tree.
Angus Thurgate returns as the host, and is joined by the formidable judging panel of Hannah Ross, Greg Nash, and Ben Alcock. Come and listen, or bring a poem to the village green – just past the Moller Pavilion, then stick around and join in the Bang Burger Bar burger-eating competition straight after.
Any enquiries about the bush poetry competition to [email protected]
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